Hume Dam

Constructed over a 17-year period between 1919 and 1936, the Hume Dam is located approximately east of the city of Albury. The dam was built, involving a workforce of thousands, by a consortium of NSW and Victorian government agencies that included the Water Resources Commission of New South Wales, the Public Works Department of New South Wales, and the State Rivers and Water Supply Commission of Victoria. Supplies to the construction site were delivered via rail, through the construction of a branch siding from the Wodonga – Cudgewa railway. Hume Dam is jointly managed by Victorian and New South Wales authorities on behalf of the Murray-Darling Basin Authority. Goulburn-Murray Water manages water and land located in Victoria, and the New South Wales State Water Corporation is responsible for day-to-day operation and maintenance and the management of major remedial works at the dam. ==Description==

The dam is a mix of a concrete gravity dam with four earth embankments. The dam wall height is . The crest is long, with the auxiliary embankments extending a further . The maximum water elevation above sea level is . At 100% capacity the dam wall holds back of water at AHD. Water is retained nearly upstream of the reservoir in the valleys of both the Murray and Mitta Mitta rivers. The dam wall was extended during the 1950s, and completed in 1961, as well as the raising of the Bethanga Bridge. Monitoring of the dam in the early 1990s revealed that the water pressure and leakage had caused the dam to move on its foundations slightly, leading to concerns that the dam was heading for collapse, threatening Albury-Wodonga and the entire Murray basin. Authorities denied any short-term threat. ==Power station==

The Hume Power Station is a hydro-electric power station installed in the dam wall, and is primarily used for peak-load generation. The station has an average annual output of . The power station was completed in 1957, running two turbines. In 2000, these turbines were each upgraded to . ==Etymology==

Originally named the Mitta Mitta Dam site, following representations from the Municipal Council of Albury, on 17 February 1920 the River Murray Commission decided to honour Hamilton Hume, who, in company with William Hovell, was one of the first Europeans to see and cross the Murray River in 1824. In 1920, the reservoir was named the Hume Reservoir and the dam adopted the name of the Hume Weir, the name given by the Victorian Place Names Committee. Following a proposal from Hume Shire Council, in 1996 both the NSW and Victorian governments agreed that the dam should be named the Hume Dam, and the reservoir be named Lake Hume. ==Lake Hume==

Lake Hume is estimated to hold approximately six times the volume of water in Sydney Harbour. Recreation The lake is stocked with fish. Most of these are introduced species – carp, redfin and trout though native species such as golden perch and Murray cod can also be found. The fishing varies from year to year. It is also popular for water skiing, and several holiday resorts catering for fishing and skiers are dotted around the upper reaches of the lake. An annual Canoe marathon race the 'Frank Harrison Classic' is run on the river beginning below the dam each February and attracts competitors from across Australia. Sailing on Hume Dam In 1958, a group of enthusiastic sailors established a Sailing Club and started to run regular regattas. The sailing club has since grown and is now known as the Albury Wodonga Yacht Club (AWYC). The club offers sail training for children and adults, and regular weekend racing. Once a year, on the first weekend in November, AWYC runs SailCountry, a large regatta which attracts entrants from all over Australia. ==Impact on the ecology of the Murray River==

The construction of Hume Dam has caused significant changes to the flow patterns and ecology of the Murray River. Before the construction of the Hume Weir, flows in normal, non-drought years were low in summer and autumn, though still significant overall, rising in winter due to seasonal rainfall and reaching a flood-peak in late spring due to snow-melt in the Murray and its tributaries' alpine headwaters. The flow is now effectively reversed, with low flows in winter and sustained, relatively high flows in late spring, summer and early autumn to meet irrigation demands. The spring flood peak has been virtually eliminated. This flow reversal, temperature depression, and removal of the spring flood peak, has led to the drying out and loss of many billabongs and has harmed the populations of native fish of the Murray River such as the iconic Murray cod and the freshwater catfish, which can no longer be found downstream of the dam as far as Yarrawonga, where it had previously been recorded up until the 1960s. ==Hume Weir Football Club==

The Hume Weir FC was established in 1921, mainly from footballers working on the construction of the new weir. The club initially played in the Albury & Border Football Association from 1921 to 1923, wearing black and white striped jumpers. Andrew Mafferzoni was the club's initial coach in 1921 and they played at the "Weir Ground". Hume Weir won the Albury & Border FA premiership in 1922 and 1923. In 1924, Hume Weir joined the Ovens and Murray Football League (O&MFL) and played there until 1929. Percy Jones kicked 104 goals for Hume Weir in 1928 before being lured to Geelong in 1929. As part of being admitted into the O&MFL in 1924, Hume Weir agreed to play their home games at the Wodonga Racecourse Oval. Hume Weir were runners up to Wangaratta in 1925 and were coached by Tim Archer. In 1927, Hume Weir played their home games at Wodonga Park. In 1930, Hume Weir merged with Ebden Rovers Football Club to become the Weir United Football Club. Weir United won the 1930 and 1931 O&MFL premierships. In 1933, East Albury Football Club and Weir United Football Club merged to become the Border United Football Club (Albury based). They wore green and white jumpers. They played in and lost the 1933 O&MFL grand final to Wangaratta. In 1935, they lost the O&MFL grand final to Rutherglen. In 1936, Border United FC (Albury based) merged with the Albury Football Club and became known as Albury FC. Albury FC played in the 1937, 1939 and 1940 O&MFL grand finals. Immediately after the World War II recess, Albury played in the 1946, 1947 and 1948 O&MFL grand finals. ==Gallery==

Hume Dam 23042009 panorama01.jpg|Hume Dam panorama, April 2009 Hume Dam 2 Stevage.jpeg|Outflow, April 2014. Eight gates open at Hume Dam.jpg|The dam wall and power station, 2016. ==See also==